Bill Guerry co-chairs the firm’s Environmental Law group. His practice focuses on environmental, renewable and alternative fuels and energy sources. For over two decades, Bill has represented corporate clients and national trade associations on major environmental and energy projects involving engines, equipment vehicles and tools. He represents clients in matters before the U.S. Congress, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), federal courts and numerous state EPAs.
Bill is a nationally recognized lawyer in the Clean Air Act as it applies to “mobile sources,” including non-road engines, vehicles and equipment, and renewable and alternative fuels such as biodiesel, synthetic fuels and ethanol. He has successfully worked on legislation, regulations and litigation to expand federal preemption over conflicting state and local requirements to ensure uniform, national regulation of “mobile sources.” His experience includes all aspects of federal and California exhaust and evaporative emission regulations applicable to off-road engines and equipment, including certification, importation, distribution and enforcement.
Bill has successfully resolved more than a dozen enforcement cases brought by either the California Air Resources Board (CARB) or EPA against individual non-road engine and equipment manufacturers. He is among the founders of Californians for Enforcement Reform and Transparency (CERT), a group that encourages improvements to CARB’s enforcement program.
Bill has extensive skill regarding the legislative and regulatory issues involving mid-level ethanol. His representation of the AllSAFE consumer and manufacturing coalition resulted in favorable amendments to the fuel waiver provisions of Section 211(F)(4) of the Clean Air Act. He currently represents producers of renewable synthetic diesel fuel derived from woody biomass. Moreover, Bill also serves as general counsel to and represents the Low Carbon Synthetic Fuels Association (LCSFA) before the EPA and other government entities.
With respect to “stationary sources,” Bill advises on matters involving new source review (NSR), prevention of significant deterioration (PSD), new source performance standards (NSPS) and hazardous air pollutants and related permitting programs, as well as with responding to EPA Section 114 information requests, related citizen suits and enforcement matters. He also has substantial experience providing strategic legislative and regulatory counsel to shape climate change initiatives such as renewable, low-carbon fuels; offsets for the biosequestration of carbon; and financial incentives for the production and sale of alternative fuels and cleaner technologies. Furthermore, Bill counsels clients on hazardous waste regulations governing the generation, storage, treatment, disposal, recycling and export of secondary materials from steel manufacturing, metal recycling and industrial laundering, as well as environmental remediations, including corrective action.
In particular, Bill also represents clients in connection with the management and disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and various Clean Water Act compliance issues, including point-source and stormwater permits and discharge limits. He advises on all aspects of Section 313 of the Emergency Planning & Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), including the calculation of activity thresholds and the reporting of toxic releases, and toxic tort litigation involving disinfection byproducts in drinking water.
Prior to private practice, Bill served as a law clerk to Virginia Supreme Court Justice Charles S. Russell from 1986–1987.